In the blue, blue San Francisco sky...
. . . a pelican soars above Fanny. He swoops down and drops a scroll by her feet, and with a wink of his eye, he flies away.
On Sunday morning, Fanny pretends to be asleep when her dad approaches her bed. He pats her head. “Little girl, it looks like you want to sleep. I will be back by dinnertime.� When Fanny hears the door close, she runs to the garden, ready to fly. Her ears flap with excitement, and she is in the air.
From center ring Leonardo calls, “Troupe! Attention s’il vous plaît. Attention, please. The magic floor has been laid. Everyone is now inside. We are ready to fly.”
Just then the entire tent lifts into the air, rising high above the ground, flying east across the country. Musicians start to play.
“Now Frankie,” says Fanny, “to fly, think of wonderful things. Walks in the park, delicious treats, naps, whatever makes you happy. Fill your heart with those thoughts and imagine your ears lifting you off the ground.”
Frankie closes his eyes and thinks really hard about long belly rubs, looking out the car window as the wind blows, and his favorite bone. He tries to lift off, but he falls. Again and again he tries. Again and again he falls. Fanny offers Frankie her paw. “We’ll keep working on it. You can do it.” The lesson is interrupted when Leonardo calls, “We will soon be landing!”
“Paris!” yells Fanny. “There’s Versailles, and Fontainebleau!” Frankie points out. And there’s the Champs–Élysées and the Arc de Triomphe, where beautifully dressed people stroll and sit at cafes and eat one of my favorite treats: frites!” All of a sudden the tent slows and begins its descent. When it lands, everyone cheers.
La F ê
“It means ‘The Frenchie Jubilee," says Frankie. As they step inside Fanny sees that all the performers are French bulldogs and many of them are flying! Someone taps Fanny on her shoulder. “Fanny, is that you?” She turns around. It’s Spanky, her neighbor from San Francisco. “What are you doing here?” she asks.
ĂŞte Frenchie
But rather than answer her, he takes her paw and flying, leads her to the other side of the tent. Frankie walks over to join them.
That evening, Fanny looks out at the full moon, marvels over the land of her ancestors and says, “Let’s fly together, to go eat some frites!”